Gifted Nashville actor, Barry Scott, is set to re-create the Civil Rights Era, conjure the spirit of Dr. King, and lead a dialog about the true color of race relations when he visits Durham January 8 and 9, 2009. Scott's engagement, part of the Carolina Theatre's Pathways to Understanding Series, will include three different presentations. "Barry Scott is an authority on the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.," said Connie Campanaro, president of the theatre management company. "This program, a tribute-festival of sorts, was chosen to coincide with what would have been King's 80th birthday." The MLK tribute events include: an interactive workshop, an afternoon presentation that combines an educational lecture with authentic reenactments of King's speeches and a full-scale theatrical work based on the 1960s era, when the struggle for racial equality became a lightning-rod issue and forced the eyes of America to focus on events in the South. At 11:00 a.m. Friday, January 9 The Carolina Theatre presents A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. a one hour presentation best enjoyed by school groups, civic and senior groups. Admission is $5 and reservations are recommended. At 8:00 p.m., the same day (January 9) The Carolina Theatre presents a one-man, multi-character play that the Mobile Press called "superb...[Scott's] hypnotic delivery is uncanny." Tickets for Ain't Got Long to Stay Here starring Barry Scott are $24/ member price $20, and $5 for students. Special group rates are available. Tickets can be purchased at the box office located at 309 West Morgan Street in Downtown Durham, by phone 919-560-3030 or online www.carolinatheatre.org. Box office hours are Monday-Friday, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and one hour before show time.

THE ACTOR

Barry Scott is widely known as an actor, writer, producer, director and motivational speaker. He is the founder and producing artistic director of the American Negro Playwright Theatre at Tennessee State University. He is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, Actors' Equity Association, American Film Radio & Television Association and serves on the board of the Tennessee Arts Commission.

An authority on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Scott has an intense desire to teach a new generation about one of America's most violent and inspiring times and the man who forever changed America. He has recreated Dr. King's speeches in prominent location such as the Beacon Theatre New York, the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery and the National Civil Right Museum in Memphis. In fact Coretta Scott King is among the actor's fans; she has personally complimented him on his realistic depiction of her late husband.

Scott's professional work as a writer includes the plays Lisa's Story, Harlem Voices, An American Slavery Play, Joyful Noise, When I Grow Up I'm Gonna Get Me Some Big Words and The Last Negro. His film and television roles include appearances in I'll Fly Away, Rescue 911, and a recurring role as a minister in the successful series In the Heat of the Night.

THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Barry Scott leads a community forum entitled, "Different Doesn't Mean Wrong: Learning About Diversity,"at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, January 8 in the PSI Theater of the Durham Arts Council. Admission is free and open to the public. This interactive presentation is designed to lead attendees through the process of identifying bias, embracing diversity, and creating respect.

THE MATINEE

Barry Scott-one of the country's premier actors-has gained a reputation for finding and dramatically re-creating the great civil rights leader's stirring rhythms and powerful exhortations.
A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Fletcher Hall at The Carolina Theatre at 11:00 a.m., Friday, January 9, will combine the performance of some of Dr. King's most memorable speeches with a lecture on the legacy and modern application of Dr. King's message. Scott has performed Dr. King's speeches for President Carter and in performing arts centers and college campuses across the country. Appropriate for ages 10 and up

THE THEATRICAL PRODUCTION

At 8:00 p.m., Friday January 9 in Fletcher Hall at the Carolina Theatre, Barry Scott stars in Ain't Got Long to Stay Here, a one-man show dramatizing one of America's most violent and inspiring times. While Scott's performance is a solo one, he will not be completely alone on stage. He has various costumes to accompany his portrayals of preachers, civil rights workers, Alabama cops, Klansmen, and other figures of the era. Characters such as Ralph Abernathy, Medgar Evans, Andrew Young, Sheriff Bill Conner and George Wallace will come to life. Rear-screen projections will be used to display well-known archival images of MLK, the movement, the marches for equality, the police brutality, and some of those who died for the cause. The latter include the four young black girls who perished in the 1963 bombing of Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church. Scott will deliver excerpts of King's eulogy on the "democracy of death" over these pictures in what promises to be a thoroughly haunting segment. Adding to the show's overall effect is a rich soundtrack of piano and strings, which swells and then pulls back into the background, synchronized to the dynamics of Scott's performance. Audiences will be invited to stay for a post-show discussion with the actor.